An average day...

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday, and though we have tried to call him several times, we have been unable to connect with him. Something about not being able to verbally wish him "Happy Birthday!" has made me recognize some pretty intense feelings of homesickness. Thank goodness my sister happened to IM me for the first time in a couple of months tonight right when I needed it most. Isn't it funny how God knows how best to take care of us?

In other news, we have decided to purchase the car mentioned at the very end of my last entry. We went down to the Portsmouth Police Station yesterday to get Dominican driving permits with the seller. We smiled, and handed our New Mexico licenses to the young, but kind officer who points out that my husband's license has expired. He was not able to get a permit, so, for the time being, it will be MY car. Yay!?

We hope that he can renew his license from here, since I've heard stories about how lengthy a process it is to actually apply for a Dominican Driver's License. Tomorrow we should be able to finalize the transaction, and then my life here will change significantly! Since we also want to stay for fifth semester, both sets of parents seem to think they will be able to come and visit us! I am so excited about this that I can't seem to settle down, despite the fact that it is well past bedtime. It has been SO long since we have seen our families, and our prospects for getting clinical rotations near home are slim to none.

I also spent some time tonight reading my friends blogs, and it made me realize how little I have actually been able to blog about during our trip. I am, of course, concious of this fact on a regular basis, but I struggle with wanting to write about the day-to-day doldrums of the temporary lifestlye in which I find myself. I have spent a significant amount of time trying to make information about living here more prolific, and have met with a high degree of success in doing so, only I have really felt a lack of personal contact with those who are helped by my efforts. Whine, whine, whine. My point is, to the few people who have expressed gratitude for all of the information on the RSO site and this blog - THANK YOU!

So, for a change I will chronicle my average day on the island instead of a grand adventure. Prepare to be bored.

I woke up this morning to the sound of my husband sneezing. This is my alarm clock almost every morning. He only developed allergies over the last couple of years, and moving to Dominica from southern New Mexico has done nothing to alleviate his symptoms. In fact, I think they are worse! The matresses in most of the apartments here, including mine, are about 4 inches thick and do almost nothing to support you while sleeping. We cannot wait to return to the States and buy a good mattress! My youngest who is now 4 has not slept through the night since she turned two. I'm not complaining, she slept through the night as a baby so I suppose this is fair. Since every night is interrupted by sneezing and a child joining me in bed (unless I wake up enough to send her back to her bed multiple times) compounded by the poor support of the mattress; I rarely get a good night's sleep. This, of course, means that I struggle to get up and get the kids out the door in time for school in the morning, though we come pretty close most days. We eat breakfast, get dressed, double check that homework, snacks, and water bottles are accounted for in backpacks, fight over which shoes to wear, and then leave the house. Most mornings we are able to catch one of the University buses after they drop of a load of students at the annex, but, if we don't get out the door early enough then we miss the bus and wind up being truly late, like this morning.

After successfully dropping the kids off at school with kisses, full water bottles, and a quick "Hello" to whomever is sitting outside of the school (there are always a few of us around every morning) I head off to the gym. I was in good shape before coming here, but between the heat and the long walk to campus (we lived in Glanvillia in first semester) I got out of the habit of working out. Add to that my picky eaters and the lack of variety I am used to for cooking so I eat a lot less healthy than I used to - and that explains several pounds that appeared. :) All it takes is a good trip off the island for some really great eating and several more pounds materialize. I love working out, and am so grateful for the new gym. The old gym was pretty miserable. Anyhow, I have extended my workouts to fat burn instead of for cardiovascular benefits. After a wonderful 2 hour trip to the gym, my tank top was completely soaked. Gross! I had to run an errand at the bank in my disgusting state so that the car purchase will go off without a hitch, which of course doesn't occur today anyway. After living here for a year I can't help but run into people I know all over campus, so I get a little side-tracked on my way home, and don't actually walk in the house until close to 11, leaving me just enough time to get showered, make lunch, and head back to school.

An hour can seem like a long time to spend with the kids for lunch when it is very hot and there is no shade over the playground, but at least the kids truly enjoy that time. I spend several minutes discussing my current volunteer project (I always have a couple of projects going at all times). I hope to organize the children's school library by topic this semester, and am excited that one of the new spouses to the island is interested in helping me!

One of my big projects here on the island was creating and compiling a guide about island life, suitable for students, spouses, and faculty members. This required countless hours of work and meetings, which allowed me to meet some really fantastic people who I would not have otherwise known. Throughout the course of the last two semesters we met one to three times a week, until April. Needless to say, after all that time together, we miss each other! So, a few of us went to The Tomato Cafe for a wonderful lunch. Eating at any restaurant on the island takes significantly longer than it does in the States, and though the Tomato is faster than most, between the good food and company we only just finished in time to get back to the school and pick up the kids.

Most of our afternoons are spent on the playground until about 4, followed by a walk home up the hill which takes us a good half hour. Today, however, we were blessed with catching a ride home and the opportunity to help out a mother in need of a solution for her baby by sharing some Benefiber. I was excited to be home early as I have some articles to write for The Physical Examiner, the monthly student newsletter, but shortly after reading the days e-mails I found myself nodding off at the computer. I took a nap. :) This is another reason why I'm up late tonight.

I woke up just in time to start putting the house together and prepare for dinner before my husband arrives home. He brings a friend, which allows him some additional study time, and is just a fun change of pace. We've lost our electricity code and are running low, and I decide we need different pasta than what we've currently got, so I send the boys off to the store, prepare and eat dinner while helping my oldest with her homework, I put the kids to bed, put them to bed again, fix them some milkshakes, put them to bed again, put the little one to bed 4 more times, and rather than write my articles I get distracted by my poor, neglected blog.

I forgot to mention a large variety of small and generally insignificant portions of the day. A favor returned here, a favor begged there, several items of RSO business, etc. and there you have it. An average day.

My sweetheart and his friend, on the other hand, had their first day at the hospital today. They were able to observe an echo-cardiogram and a leg amputation. Before coming home they spent time being photographed and interviewed by people from New Jersey who are updating one of their packets or something. Hello! I totally should have blogged about their adventures today! That would have been a lot less boring. :)